Easter is a particularly quiet week when it comes to auctions and there was only a handful reported in the capital cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane on Saturday.
Many of the auctions that did occur were in popular vacation spots, according to APM senior economist, Dr Andrew Wilson.
“That tends to be what happens,” he says.
Auction Results: This Saturday, 30 March 2013
A breather as rates on hold
The thin results make it difficult to draw any real conclusions from the weekend but it might be best to consider it as the market taking a breath from the pre-autumn season as it heads into winter.
The Reserve Bank left rates on hold at its meeting today.
In its statement the bank said: “The Board’s view is that with inflation likely to be consistent with the target, and with growth likely to be a little below trend over the coming year, an accommodative stance of monetary policy is appropriate. The inflation outlook, as assessed at present, would afford scope to ease policy further, should that be necessary to support demand.”
Wilson also reports they are hearing anecdotal stories of buyers looking to lock in fixed interest rates.
Auction Results: Saturday, 23 March 2013
“Punters are feeling that the current loosening cycle has reached its bottom,” he says.
That doesn’t mean there will be an interest rate hike anytime soon, merely that there are not too many more cuts on the horizon.
Strong winter ahead
The economy is picking up and the residential market is heading into a strong winter that may be driven by investors, rather than first home buyers, for a change.
“I think we’re in line for the strongest selling winter season for at least three years”, Wilson says.
Strong auctions activity will return this weekend with numbers in the four hundreds scheduled for the coming Saturday in both Melbourne and Sydney.
Auction Results: Saturday, 31 March 2012
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